Issue Guide: What Geneva II Means for Syria

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After prolonged discord over who would participate in the Geneva II peace talks on Syria, negotiators from Bashar al-Assad's government and the political opposition in exile have convened along with world powers in the Swiss town of Montreux. The June 2012 communiqué that formed the basis for these talks calls for "a transitional governing body with full executive powers" formed with the consent of both the regime and opposition, but analysts say the most likely outcome is not a negotiated settlement but humanitarian relief for civilians. The following background and analysis offers a guide to the talks, which resumed in Geneva on Friday amid uncertainty over whether the parties would meet face to face.

Washington Post: Ending Syrians' SufferingDavid Miliband, the president of the International Rescue Committee says even if a negotiated settlement is out of reach, the parties should work to ease the humanitarian crisis facing Syrians.

CFR Interview: Small Steps to Syrian Transition?Former U.S. ambassador to Syria Edward P. Djerejian says that talks focused on limited cease-fires, prisoner exchanges, and aid corridors now may lay the groundwork for future negotiations toward a political transition.

Al-Jazeera: Great Expectations?While "political negotiations are the only game in town," the state of Syria's political opposition complicates the prospects of a peace agreement, writes Middle East Institute scholar Randa Slim.

If Not Geneva, Then What?

Project Syndicate: Stopping the Syria ContagionPeace brokers must change the parties' incentives to prioritize the protection of civilians, and the Obama administration must hold out the credible threat of force to bolster the moderate opposition vis-à-vis al-Qaeda-linked groups and the Assad regime, writes Anne-Marie Slaughter, president of the New America Foundation.

Foreign Affairs: Winning the Peace by Failing in GenevaFormer State Department officials Jeremy Shapiro and Samuel Charap argue that if Assad blocks a settlement at Geneva II, Russia may move toward greater cooperation with the United States, and together they can facilitate a political resolution among regional supporters of the regime and opposition.

Foreign Affairs: Hope Springs in Syria?Local efforts to end the siege laid to opposition-held areas have led to many small-scale cease-fires. They are "the best chance for peace in the short term," writes journalist Hassan Hassan, who says the Geneva talks should lay the groundwork to enact them nationwide.

On the Ground in Syria

Washington Institute: Assad's Indispensable Foreign LegionsThe Assad regime's attempt to frame the civil war as a battle against "foreign terrorists" obscures the fact that there are at least as many foreigners fighting for the regime as against it, writes Washington Institute defense fellow Jeffrey White.

Human Rights Watch: World Report 2014The Syrian government "indiscriminately attacked civilians in areas held by the armed opposition," writes Human Rights Watch executive director Kenneth Roth. "The fear of doing anything that might dissuade Damascus from participating in Geneva II has become the latest excuse for not putting real pressure on Syria."

Buzzfeed: The Speech That Changed SyriaMiddle East correspondent Mike Giglio recounts how decisions made by Assad in 2011 transformed peaceful demonstrations into the largely sectarian civil war it is today.

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